Two Preliminary Studies on the Effects of Multisensory Stimulation on Working Capacity and Stress Reduction

Abstract

This paper reports the results of two separate experiments on the effects of multisensory stimulation on working capacity and stress reduction. The first experiment, employing auditory stimulation and lighting stimulation, revealed that multisensory stimulation, a combination of green light, and the sound of a murmuring stream, had a greater stress-reduction effect than single-sensory stimulation. The second experiment, which employed smell and lighting stimulation, revealed that a peppermint scent reinforced working capacity during arithmetic calculation. Green light combined with a peppermint scent also supported working capacity. Such multisensory interaction cannot be accounted for as merely the cumulative effect of a combination of single-sensory stimuli.